After this, I was thinking of what is written at the beginning of this chapter – that is, that one who operates in the Divine Will operates in eternity, one who operates outside of It operates in time. And I thought to myself: “And why this great difference?”
And my Highest Love, Jesus, added: “My daughter, it is easy to comprehend it. Suppose you were given a metal of gold, with which, by working it, you would form many beautiful objects of gold. But if instead of gold you were given a metal of copper, of iron, you would not be able to change the copper and the iron into gold metal, therefore you would make objects of copper or of iron. Now, compare the objects of iron with those of gold: what is the difference in their value? Yet, it took you the same amount of time to work them, you made similar objects, but because of the difference in the metal, those of gold surpass in a surprising way, in value, in beauty, in fineness, those of iron. Now, for one who operates, even what is good, with his human will, since he finds himself in time to cross his way, it can be said that everything he does are temporary works, subject to a thousand miseries. They will always be human works of minimum value, because they lack the golden thread of light of My Will. On the other hand, one who operates in It will have the golden thread in his power; not only this, but he will have his Creator operating in his act; he will have, not time, but eternity in his power. Therefore, because of the mere difference between Divine Will and human will, there is no comparison that can stand between one and the other. The living in My Will is precisely this: My Will holds the prime and operating act in the creature. It acts like a teacher who wants the essay he has assigned to his pupil to be developed. He himself gives him the paper, puts the pen in his hand, places his own hand over the hand of the disciple, and develops the essay, as the hand of the teacher and that of the disciple write together. Now, should it not be said that the teacher was operating, and has placed his own science, his own beautiful handwriting into that essay, in such a way that no one will be able to find a shadow of defect? However, the pupil has not moved, he has undergone the work of the teacher, he has let his hand be guided with no resistance; on the contrary, he was happy in seeing the beautiful ideas, the precious concepts, into which he felt himself being enraptured. Now, should it not be said that the fortunate disciple possesses the value, the merit, of the work of his teacher? The same happens to one who lives in My Will: the creature must undergo the act that My Volition wants to do, she must not put herself aside; and My Will must place what is needed and befitting to Its divine acts; and Our goodness is so great that We make her the possessor of Our own acts. On the other hand, to one who does not live in Our Will would happen as when the teacher assigns the essay to his disciple, but does not make himself the actor of the essay of the disciple – he leaves it up to his freedom, in a way that he could make some mistakes, and he does it according to his small capacity, because he does not feel, over and within himself, either the capacity or the operating act of his teacher. And the essay is nothing other than Our grace, which never leaves the creature, even in the little good that she does; and according to the dispositions of the creature, it offers itself either as operating act or as assisting act, because there is no good that is done which is not helped and sustained by divine grace.”